FTM-TECH-L Archives

Archiver > FTM-TECH > 2007-07 > 1183854711


From: BJ <>
Subject: Re: [FTM-TECH] Beta
Date: Sat, 07 Jul 2007 17:31:51 -0700
References: <c4c.191c1397.33c1058d@aol.com> <7.0.1.0.2.20070707113053.0315f488@bellsouth.net><468FC8A4.3000209@visi.com>
In-Reply-To: <468FC8A4.3000209@visi.com>


See comments below.

BJ

J L Hintz wrote:
> Yeah, Rob ... but people are looking for new features. This is a
> marketing sort of question - in other words, "Why would I want to buy
> the new version? What does it DO that it didn't before?"
>
I suggest you look at the beta's help file. It seems to be well written
(for the most part there are still some areas that are missing) but the
What's New is very good.

If some cannot or do not intend to download the beta but would like to
see what is new, I will be happy to post it here. Just let me know.
> If a system or program is rewritten with all the same features it
> doesn't matter to the user that the database under it is better or the
> code easier to maintain. The goodies "under the hood" affect the users,
> but are not visible. For a lot of us, it doesn't even matter if the
> 'look & feel' (user interface) changes.
>
>
That would be true if the rewrite simply reproduced the old system.
Here it is not the case. Because the rewrite was so extensive and so
revolutionary that they didn't have time to include all of the things
that were in the old system. That is not to say that the new system
isn't better - I think it is but it is missing some items. I suspect
that many of these will be addressed in future updates or revisions.
> I look for changes in two areas:
> What data can I now add that I couldn't before?
>
If you are talking about data fields, the user now has the ability to
enter notes for each individual person as well as individual facts (one
note for the person and one note for each fact. These notes can be
marked Private or not.

FTM 2008 allows the user to link

1. not just Source (the old Master Sources) to Citations but link the
Source-Citations to multiple individuals and multiple facts.
2. Media (images, other media types) to multiple Individuals,
including multiple facts, and multiple sources and/or Citations.
> What features provide a better report or display for sharing with the
> cousins who don't use *any* genealogy software.
>
>
Not all of the reports have been implemented as yet so I'm not sure
whether FTM 2008 will provide you with this opportunity. FTM 2008 has a
feature called Share. This allows you to send data as PDF, CSV, RTF or
as an image. If you use the Send it opens an email message with the
report/etc. as an attachment. You also have the opportunity to Export
the items in the same formats.
> Ease making corrections and import of others' files is a bonus ... but
> my priorities may not be yours.
>
I find it much easier to enter data because I don't have to open a
separate window with other options to Edit the data. FTM 2008
introduces the concept of Information Panes. This is the panel or pane
on the right hand of most views. Here you can review the information,
manage the information (Add, Delete, Edit) the information.

Also introduced in FTM 2008 is the Place Authority. I will reserve
judgment on whether this is good or not. It is an attempt to introduce
standardization of Place data entry. FTM 2008 has a list of places
which for the USA is in the format: City, County, State, Country; e.g.
New York, New York, New York, USA. Notice this does not include the
word, "County", which I like to include. If you enter something
different than what is in the Place Authority, FTM 2008, initializes a
flag which says this entry is not in the Place Authority. You have the
opportunity to resolve this difference. You can:
1. accept the Place Authority - in which case, FTM 2008 will change
the entry to the one in the Place Authority
2. Search for another spelling of the name
3. Ignore the flag indicator - in which case, FTM 2008 turns off
the display of the flag indicator
4. Cancel - which closes the Edit Place Name dialog box and leaves
the data you entered as entered.
Alternately, you can tell FTM 2008 to not show the flag on a global
basis. This is found in Tools, Options, Warnings tab.

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